New Record of Myriopteris lindheimeri (Hook.) J. Sm. in Kiowa County, Oklahoma

Abstract

Myriopteris lindheimeri (Hook.) J. Sm. (fairy swords; Pteridaceae) is an apogamous fern of the southwestern United States. Fairy swords are native to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. The only two records in Oklahoma are from Comanche County: F.B. McMurry in 1942 and J.B. Beck with C.J. Rothfels in 2017. In this article, I report a new sighting from Kiowa County, describe the species, and explain how it can be distinguished from other southwestern Oklahoma species in the genus.